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Appendices
Appendix DThe Civic Covenant: The Standard for How Owen Sound Governs
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In this chapter
- D.1 Purpose
- D.2 The Covenant Does Not Replace Law
- D.3 Covenant Above Minimum Behaviour
- D.4 Faith and Public Power
- D.5 Meaning
- D.6 No Religious Test
- D.7 Equal Service
- D.8 No Favourites
- D.9 Political Supporter
- D.10 Political Opponent
- D.11 Campaign Volunteer
- D.12 Donor
- D.13 Friend
- D.14 Family Member
- D.15 Critic
- D.16 Dignity
- D.17 Dignity Does Not Mean Agreement
- D.18 Respectful No
- D.19 No Humiliation
- D.20 No Dehumanizing Labels
- D.21 Behaviour Can Be Addressed
- D.22 Person Remains a Person
- D.23 Autonomy
- D.24 Government Should Need a Reason
- D.25 Convenience Is Not Enough
- D.26 Digital Choice
- D.27 Human Route
- D.28 Family
- D.29 Family Does Not Mean One Family Type Controls City Hall
- D.30 Family Impact
- D.31 Home
- D.32 Property Stewardship
- D.33 Public Property
- D.34 Stewardship
- D.35 Public Office Is Temporary
- D.36 Election Does Not Transfer Ownership
- D.37 Authority Is Borrowed
- D.38 Restraint
- D.39 Power Test
- D.40 Reverse Power Test
- D.41 Future Mayor Test
- D.42 Rule of Law
- D.43 No Rule for One Person
- D.44 Prospective Rules
- D.45 Discretion
- D.46 Discretion Needs Guardrails
- D.47 Equality Before Municipal Process
- D.48 Individual Circumstances Still Matter
- D.49 Rights Before Popularity
- D.50 Rights Screen
- D.51 Not Every Disagreement Is Rights Violation
- D.52 Expression
- D.53 Criticism Is Not Misconduct
- D.54 Strong Criticism
- D.55 Threats
- D.56 Violence
- D.57 Harassment
- D.58 Behaviour Standard
- D.59 Public Delegations
- D.60 Meeting Rules
- D.61 Steelman Standard
- D.62 Why
- D.63 Both-Sides Standard
- D.64 False Balance
- D.65 Honest Opposition
- D.66 Goodwill Standard
- D.67 Disagreement Is Normal
- D.68 Consensus Is Not Always Success
- D.69 Minority View
- D.70 Council Member Can Dissent
- D.71 Staff Can Disagree Professionally
- D.72 Mayor Can Disagree With Staff
- D.73 Professional Advice Is Advice
- D.74 Evidence
- D.75 Do Not Present Preference as Fact
- D.76 Do Not Present Forecast as Result
- D.77 Do Not Present Legal Advice as Political Endorsement
- D.78 Do Not Present Consultation as Referendum Unless It Was One
- D.79 Uncertainty
- D.80 Unknown Is Better Than Manufactured Certainty
- D.81 Correction
- D.82 Correction Should Not Require Scandal
- D.83 Correction Log
- D.84 No Quiet Edit for Major Error
- D.85 Open Government
- D.86 Closed Session
- D.87 Closed Does Not Mean Unaccountable
- D.88 Confidentiality
- D.89 Embarrassment Is Not Confidentiality
- D.90 Political Convenience Is Not Confidentiality
- D.91 Open Books
- D.92 Open Books Does Not Mean Publishing Personal Banking Data
- D.93 Contracts
- D.94 Procurement
- D.95 No Preselected Winner
- D.96 No Private Political Procurement
- D.97 No Insider Advantage
- D.98 Conflict of Interest
- D.99 Apparent Conflict
- D.100 Founder-Associated Projects
- D.101 Mayor-Owned Idea
- D.102 Mayor-Owned Company
- D.103 Public Standard First
- D.104 Independent Decision
- D.105 Public Data
- D.106 Campaign Firewall
- D.107 No City Contact List for Campaigning
- D.108 No City Staff for Campaign Work
- D.109 No City Equipment for Campaign Work
- D.110 No Campaign Priority Queue
- D.111 Election-Year Integrity
- D.112 But Incumbency Should Not Become Municipal Advertising Machine
- D.113 Official Communications
- D.114 Campaign Communications
- D.115 Staff
- D.116 Resident Data
- D.117 Privacy
- D.118 Why Are We Collecting This?
- D.119 "May Be Useful Later"
- D.120 Retention
- D.121 Access
- D.122 Logging
- D.123 Data Sharing
- D.124 No Civic Dossier
- D.125 No Social Score
- D.126 No Political Score
- D.127 No Vulnerability Score for General Government Use
- D.128 AI
- D.129 Human Judgment
- D.130 No AI Personality Judgments
- D.131 No Facial Recognition by Default
- D.132 Accessibility
- D.133 Design In
- D.134 Not Retrofit if Avoidable
- D.135 Physical Accessibility
- D.136 Digital Accessibility
- D.137 Communication Accessibility
- D.138 Cognitive Load
- D.139 No App-Only Government
- D.140 No QR-Code-Only Government
- D.141 Residents Without Internet
- D.142 Seniors
- D.143 Youth
- D.144 Youth Participation
- D.145 Paid Work Paid
- D.146 Volunteering
- D.147 No Experience as Substitute for Pay
- D.148 Youth Political Independence
- D.149 Youth Can Criticize City Hall
- D.150 Seniors' Independence
- D.151 No Vulnerability Registry by Default
- D.152 Public Safety
- D.153 Safety Is Not Surveillance
- D.154 Enforcement Is Not Outcome
- D.155 Ticket Count Is Not Safety Measure
- D.156 Behaviour, Not Status
- D.157 Emergency Capacity
- D.158 Right Responder
- D.159 Cost Saving Cannot Override Safety
- D.160 Staff Dignity
- D.161 Public Service Is Work
- D.162 No Political Humiliation of Staff
- D.163 No Staff Humiliation of Residents
- D.164 Mutual Standard
- D.165 Whistleblowing
- D.166 Criticism Is Not Whistleblowing Automatically
- D.167 Labour
- D.168 Improvement Still Possible
- D.169 Employee Knowledge
- D.170 No Manufactured Layoff Dividend
- D.171 Automation
- D.172 Human Work
- D.173 Public Money
- D.174 Complete Cost
- D.175 Grant Money
- D.176 Reserve Money
- D.177 Debt
- D.178 Free Donation
- D.179 Cheapest Bid
- D.180 Highest Price
- D.181 Stewardship Means Comparison
- D.182 Repair Before Replace
- D.183 Maintain Before Decorate
- D.184 Prevent Before Emergency
- D.185 Measure Before Claim
- D.186 Taxpayer Honesty
- D.187 Budget Honesty
- D.188 Future Generations
- D.189 Intergenerational Stewardship
- D.190 Environment
- D.191 Environmental Policy
- D.192 No Environmental Branding Without Maintenance
- D.193 Tree Planting
- D.194 Energy Retrofit
- D.195 Waste Reduction
- D.196 Canadian Independence
- D.197 Independence Does Not Mean Isolation
- D.198 Local Capacity
- D.199 Canadian Procurement
- D.200 Digital Independence
- D.201 Can We Leave?
- D.202 Vendor Dependence
- D.203 Community
- D.204 Families
- D.205 Neighbours
- D.206 Service Clubs
- D.207 Faith Communities
- D.208 Nonprofits
- D.209 Businesses
- D.210 Volunteers
- D.211 Partnership Before Program
- D.212 Support Before Takeover
- D.213 Public Responsibility Still Remains
- D.214 Critical Municipal Service
- D.215 Volunteer Boundaries
- D.216 Community Grants
- D.217 Faith Organizations
- D.218 No Religious Preference
- D.219 No Anti-Religious Preference
- D.220 Viewpoint Neutrality
- D.221 Indigenous Relationship
- D.222 Distinct Relationship
- D.223 Listen First
- D.224 No Surprise
- D.225 Disagreement Can Survive
- D.226 Keep Commitments
- D.227 Honour Confidentiality
- D.228 Indigenous Knowledge
- D.229 Government Relationships
- D.230 Ontario is:
- D.231 Canada is:
- D.232 Different Authority
- D.233 No Partisan Test
- D.234 Provincial Relationship
- D.235 Federal Relationship
- D.236 County Relationship
- D.237 No Wrong Door
- D.238 But Do Not Lie About Jurisdiction
- D.239 Accountability
- D.240 Promise
- D.241 Original Wording
- D.242 Completed
- D.243 Missed
- D.244 Responsible Stop
- D.245 Failure
- D.246 Learning
- D.247 No Perfection Theatre
- D.248 Honest Change
- D.249 Political Courage
- D.250 Public Scorecard
- D.251 Resident Participation
- D.252 Participation Is Not Permanent Plebiscite
- D.253 Resident Pulse
- D.254 Strong Vote
- D.255 Petition
- D.256 Delegation
- D.257 Council Decides
- D.258 Expertise
- D.259 Public Opinion Cannot Certify Bridge Safety
- D.260 Engineer Cannot Decide Municipal Values Alone
- D.261 Consultation
- D.262 Information Session
- D.263 Consultation Summary
- D.264 Minority Position
- D.265 Accessibility in Engagement
- D.266 Non-Digital Engagement
- D.267 Privacy in Engagement
- D.268 Verify Person, Protect Opinion
- D.269 Anonymous Public Reading
- D.270 Identity
- D.271 Voting or Restricted Participation
- D.272 Separate Verification Data From Opinion Where Practical
- D.273 Public Square
- D.274 Public Square Is Not Campaign Property
- D.275 Arts
- D.276 Faith Events
- D.277 Political Events
- D.278 Safety Rules
- D.279 Noise Rules
- D.280 Scheduling
- D.281 Downtown
- D.282 Public Realm
- D.283 Homelessness
- D.284 Harmful Behaviour
- D.285 Public Space Rules
- D.286 Business Rights
- D.287 Community Standards
- D.288 Same Rules
- D.289 Initiative Test
- D.290 Covenant Questions
- D.291 Civic Covenant Review Box
- D.292 Not Every Small Purchase Needs This Table
- D.293 Major Policy
- D.294 High-Rights-Risk Policy
- D.295 High-Conflict Proposal
- D.296 High-Data Proposal
- D.297 Covenant Conflict
- D.298 Example
- D.299 Example
- D.300 Example
- D.301 Example
- D.302 Example
- D.303 Example
- D.304 Example
- D.305 Example
- D.306 Civic Courage
- D.307 Civic Humility
- D.308 Balance
- D.309 Public Conduct Standard
- D.310 Sharp Debate
- D.311 Personal Abuse
- D.312 Humour
- D.313 Mockery of Residents
- D.314 Social Media
- D.315 Personal Account
- D.316 Official Account
- D.317 Blocking Critics
- D.318 Threats and Spam
- D.319 Disagreement
- D.320 City Meetings
- D.321 Chair Should Not Protect Council From Embarrassment
- D.322 Staff Presentations
- D.323 Consultant Presentations
- D.324 Lobbying
- D.325 Gifts
- D.326 Hospitality
- D.327 Travel
- D.328 Expense
- D.329 Mayor's Office
- D.330 Council Office
- D.331 Civic Appointments
- D.332 No Loyalty Test
- D.333 No Campaign Reward
- D.334 Board Independence
- D.335 Procurement Independence
- D.336 Hiring Independence
- D.337 Enforcement Independence
- D.338 Professional Independence
- D.339 Complaint Systems
- D.340 Complaint Is Data
- D.341 Complaint Is Not Misconduct by Resident
- D.342 Repeat Complaint
- D.343 Abusive Conduct
- D.344 Service Recovery
- D.345 Fix
- D.346 Explain
- D.347 Escalate
- D.348 Ombudsman / Integrity / Other Oversight
- D.349 Accountability Has Channels
- D.350 Mayor Should Not Become Complaint Monarch
- D.351 Public Trust
- D.352 Trust Is Built Through
- D.353 Trust Can Survive Disagreement
- D.354 Trust Can Survive Failure
- D.355 Trust Does Not Survive Manipulation Easily
- D.356 Civic Education
- D.357 Civic Education Is Not Indoctrination
- D.358 Present Authority Honestly
- D.359 Present Disagreement Honestly
- D.360 Youth Civic Education
- D.361 Democracy Requires That Freedom
- D.362 Institutional Memory
- D.363 No Government by Memory
- D.364 Records
- D.365 Handoffs
- D.366 Outgoing Mayor
- D.367 Incoming Mayor
- D.368 Four-Year Transition
- D.369 Public Office Ends
- D.370 Civic Covenant Scorecard
- D.371 Possible Indicators
- D.372 Numbers Need Context
- D.373 Zero Complaints
- D.374 Qualitative Review
- D.375 Annual Covenant Review
- D.376 Public Examples
- D.377 No Employee Shame
- D.378 No Resident Shame
- D.379 Year One
- D.380 Year Two
- D.381 Year Three
- D.382 Year Four
- D.383 Four-Year Covenant Audit
- D.384 Anti-Gaming Rule One
- D.385 Anti-Gaming Rule Two
- D.386 Anti-Gaming Rule Three
- D.387 Anti-Gaming Rule Four
- D.388 Anti-Gaming Rule Five
- D.389 Anti-Gaming Rule Six
- D.390 Anti-Gaming Rule Seven
- D.391 Anti-Gaming Rule Eight
- D.392 Anti-Gaming Rule Nine
- D.393 Anti-Gaming Rule Ten
- D.394 Anti-Gaming Rule Eleven
- D.395 Anti-Gaming Rule Twelve
- D.396 Anti-Gaming Rule Thirteen
- D.397 Anti-Gaming Rule Fourteen
- D.398 Anti-Gaming Rule Fifteen
- D.399 Anti-Gaming Rule Sixteen
- D.400 Anti-Gaming Rule Seventeen
- D.401 Anti-Gaming Rule Eighteen
- D.402 Anti-Gaming Rule Nineteen
- D.403 Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty
- D.404 Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-One
- D.405 Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Two
- D.406 Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Three
- D.407 Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Four
- D.408 Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Five
- D.409 Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Six
- D.410 Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Seven
- D.411 Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Eight
- D.412 Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Nine
- D.413 Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty
- D.414 Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-One
- D.415 Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Two
- D.416 Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Three
- D.417 Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Four
- D.418 Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Five
- D.419 Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Six
- D.420 Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Seven
- D.421 Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Eight
- D.422 Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Nine
- D.423 Anti-Gaming Rule Forty
- D.424 The Dignity Test
- D.425 The Autonomy Test
- D.426 The Family Test
- D.427 The Faith and Conscience Test
- D.428 The Expression Test
- D.429 The Equality Test
- D.430 The Stewardship Test
- D.431 The Transparency Test
- D.432 The Privacy Test
- D.433 The Accessibility Test
- D.434 The Conflict Test
- D.435 The Procurement Test
- D.436 The Resident Participation Test
- D.437 The Staff Test
- D.438 The Youth Test
- D.439 The Senior Test
- D.440 The Safety Test
- D.441 The Technology Test
- D.442 The Vendor Test
- D.443 The Political Neutrality Test
- D.444 The Public Office Test
- D.445 The Future Council Test
- D.446 The Honest Failure Test
- D.447 The Stop Test
- D.448 The Civic Covenant Commitment
A public promise about how power should be exercised
A City can have:
- balanced budgets;
- good roads;
- efficient permits;
- modern technology;
and still govern badly if it forgets:
who government is for.
The Civic Covenant establishes the ethical and institutional standard behind this Four-Year City Business Plan.
It is not:
- a substitute for the Constitution;
- a new Charter;
- a religious test;
- a political loyalty statement;
- a legally invented category of rights.
It is a public governing commitment.
It answers:
How should Owen Sound exercise the authority it lawfully possesses?
The central principle is:
Public office is held in trust.
Residents are not:
- subjects of City Hall;
- data points;
- campaign assets;
- obstacles to administration.
They are people with:
- dignity;
- autonomy;
- families;
- beliefs;
- property;
- responsibilities;
- different opinions;
- different needs;
- a shared city.
The Civic Covenant therefore begins with a simple promise:
Government should be strong enough to perform its lawful responsibilities, restrained enough to respect the people it serves, and honest enough to admit when it is wrong.
D.1Purpose
The Civic Covenant should guide:
- Mayor;
- Council;
- administration;
- municipal boards where applicable;
- contractors acting for the City;
- public initiatives;
- partnerships;
- technology;
- communications;
- enforcement;
- procurement.
D.2The Covenant Does Not Replace Law
Where:
- statute;
- regulation;
- constitutional law;
- court order;
requires something:
The City follows the law.
D.3Covenant Above Minimum Behaviour
The law often establishes:
- minimum obligations.
The Covenant asks:
Can we govern better than the minimum?
D.4Faith and Public Power
The operating principle is:
Faith informs the motive. Law governs the exercise of public power.
D.5Meaning
An elected official may personally be motivated by:
- Christianity;
- another faith;
- philosophy;
- family;
- civic duty;
- conscience.
Municipal decisions must still be exercised:
- lawfully;
- equally;
- transparently.
D.6No Religious Test
A resident should never need to:
- share the Mayor's faith;
- reject faith;
- profess any worldview;
to receive ordinary City service.
D.7Equal Service
Municipal service should not depend on:
- religion;
- political support;
- criticism of Council;
- personal friendship;
- wealth;
- social status.
D.8No Favourites
The standard is:
Same rule. Same process. Same evidence.
D.9Political Supporter
Receives:
- same service standard.
D.10Political Opponent
Receives:
- same service standard.
D.11Campaign Volunteer
No special municipal queue.
D.12Donor
No special municipal queue.
D.13Friend
No special municipal queue.
D.14Family Member
No special municipal queue.
D.15Critic
No punishment.
D.16Dignity
Every person interacting with the City should be treated as:
a person before a file.
D.17Dignity Does Not Mean Agreement
Staff or Council may still say:
- no.
D.18Respectful No
A lawful refusal should explain:
What rule applies?
Why?
What can be changed?
Is there an appeal or alternative?
D.19No Humiliation
Government should not deliberately:
- shame;
- belittle;
- mock;
residents.
D.20No Dehumanizing Labels
Avoid language that reduces people to:
- problems;
- categories;
- burdens.
D.21Behaviour Can Be Addressed
Government may regulate:
- conduct;
where lawful.
D.22Person Remains a Person
Even when behaviour requires:
- enforcement.
D.23Autonomy
Adults should generally retain as much lawful personal choice as reasonably possible.
D.24Government Should Need a Reason
Before compelling:
- information;
- behaviour;
- participation;
- technology use;
ask:
Why is this necessary?
D.25Convenience Is Not Enough
Administrative convenience alone should not automatically justify:
- unnecessary intrusion.
D.26Digital Choice
A resident should not be excluded from basic municipal service merely because they do not:
- own a smartphone;
- install an app;
- use social media.
D.27Human Route
Keep a:
- phone;
- in-person;
- reasonable non-digital;
route where practical.
D.28Family
Municipal policy should recognize families as:
- important units of community life.
D.29Family Does Not Mean One Family Type Controls City Hall
City service remains:
- lawful;
- equal.
D.30Family Impact
For major neighbourhood decisions ask:
Does this make daily family life easier or harder?
Can children move safely?
Can seniors remain connected?
Are parks usable?
Can people reach ordinary needs?
D.31Home
A home is more than:
- taxable assessment.
It is where people:
- live;
- raise children;
- age;
- rest;
- invest.
D.32Property Stewardship
Government should treat lawful property interests with:
- seriousness;
- due process;
- predictability.
D.33Public Property
The same stewardship applies to:
- City land;
- buildings;
- roads;
- equipment;
- data.
D.34Stewardship
Public assets belong institutionally to:
the public.
They do not belong personally to:
- Mayor;
- Council;
- staff.
D.35Public Office Is Temporary
The City remains.
D.36Election Does Not Transfer Ownership
Winning office does not mean:
winning the City.
D.37Authority Is Borrowed
Municipal authority is held:
- temporarily;
- lawfully;
- for public purpose.
D.38Restraint
A government should not use every power merely because:
- it possesses it.
D.39Power Test
Ask:
Is using this power necessary, proportionate and useful?
D.40Reverse Power Test
Ask:
Would I consider this use of power legitimate if my political opponent controlled City Hall?
D.41Future Mayor Test
Ask:
Would I want the next Mayor to inherit this precedent?
D.42Rule of Law
Rules should be capable of applying:
- consistently.
D.43No Rule for One Person
Do not invent municipal policy to:
- reward;
- punish;
one resident.
D.44Prospective Rules
Prefer general rules known:
- before dispute.
D.45Discretion
Some discretion is necessary.
D.46Discretion Needs Guardrails
Use:
- written criteria;
- reasons;
- review.
D.47Equality Before Municipal Process
People with similar circumstances should generally receive:
- similar treatment.
D.48Individual Circumstances Still Matter
Equal treatment does not always mean:
- identical treatment.
Accessibility and lawful accommodation may require:
- different support.
D.49Rights Before Popularity
A majority vote cannot make:
- unlawful;
action lawful.
D.50Rights Screen
Before major policy:
Ask whether it engages:
- expression;
- conscience;
- religion;
- equality;
- privacy;
- procedural fairness;
- accessibility;
- Indigenous rights.
D.51Not Every Disagreement Is Rights Violation
Use precision.
D.52Expression
Government should tolerate:
- criticism;
- disagreement;
- protest;
within lawful limits.
D.53Criticism Is Not Misconduct
A resident saying:
Council is wrong
is not, by itself:
- harassment;
- abuse.
D.54Strong Criticism
Can still be:
- protected civic participation.
D.55Threats
Different.
D.56Violence
Different.
D.57Harassment
Different.
D.58Behaviour Standard
Regulate:
- conduct;
not:
- viewpoint.
D.59Public Delegations
Residents should be able to:
- disagree;
- question;
- criticize;
within meeting rules.
D.60Meeting Rules
Should protect:
- order;
- time;
- safety.
Not:
- Council comfort.
D.61Steelman Standard
Before rejecting a serious opposing argument:
State the strongest reasonable version of it.
D.62Why
Because caricaturing opponents produces:
- worse decisions.
D.63Both-Sides Standard
For major contested decisions:
Council reports should identify:
Strongest case for.
Strongest case against.
Evidence.
Recommendation.
D.64False Balance
Do not manufacture equal evidence where none exists.
D.65Honest Opposition
But do not hide legitimate arguments.
D.66Goodwill Standard
Assume reasonable good faith until evidence suggests otherwise.
D.67Disagreement Is Normal
A healthy Council can vote:
- 5-4.
D.68Consensus Is Not Always Success
Unanimity can sometimes mean:
- excellent agreement.
Sometimes:
- insufficient debate.
D.69Minority View
Record.
D.70Council Member Can Dissent
Without being treated as:
- disloyal.
D.71Staff Can Disagree Professionally
Staff should be able to advise:
This is a bad idea
without political retaliation.
D.72Mayor Can Disagree With Staff
And still treat them:
- professionally.
D.73Professional Advice Is Advice
Council remains responsible for:
- lawful policy decisions.
D.74Evidence
Good governance should distinguish:
Fact
Estimate
Forecast
Opinion
Political Preference
Legal Requirement
D.75Do Not Present Preference as Fact
D.76Do Not Present Forecast as Result
D.77Do Not Present Legal Advice as Political Endorsement
D.78Do Not Present Consultation as Referendum Unless It Was One
D.79Uncertainty
Government should be allowed to say:
We do not know yet.
D.80Unknown Is Better Than Manufactured Certainty
D.81Correction
When City Hall is wrong:
Correct the record.
D.82Correction Should Not Require Scandal
Ordinary errors happen.
Fix them.
D.83Correction Log
Material public errors should have:
- original statement;
- correction;
- date.
D.84No Quiet Edit for Major Error
D.85Open Government
Public business should be:
open by default
subject to lawful exceptions.
D.86Closed Session
Closed meeting authority should be used:
- only where law permits.
D.87Closed Does Not Mean Unaccountable
The public can still be told:
- general subject;
- eventual result;
where lawful.
D.88Confidentiality
Real confidentiality matters.
Examples:
- personal information;
- legal privilege;
- security;
- negotiations.
D.89Embarrassment Is Not Confidentiality
D.90Political Convenience Is Not Confidentiality
D.91Open Books
Residents should be able to understand:
- where public money went.
D.92Open Books Does Not Mean Publishing Personal Banking Data
Use:
- appropriate aggregation;
- privacy.
D.93Contracts
Publish appropriate:
- vendor;
- purpose;
- amount;
- term;
information.
D.94Procurement
Must remain:
- fair;
- competitive;
- rules-based.
D.95No Preselected Winner
D.96No Private Political Procurement
D.97No Insider Advantage
D.98Conflict of Interest
Private interests should be:
- disclosed;
- managed.
D.99Apparent Conflict
May also damage:
- trust.
D.100Founder-Associated Projects
Require:
- stronger independence.
D.101Mayor-Owned Idea
Does not receive:
- weaker review.
D.102Mayor-Owned Company
Does not receive:
- municipal preference.
D.103Public Standard First
Where private technology is proposed for public use:
Define:
- public need;
- standard;
- governance;
before platform.
D.104Independent Decision
Where Mayor or elected official has private connection:
Remove private influence from:
- valuation;
- procurement;
- recommendation;
- approval;
as required.
D.105Public Data
Municipal information should not become:
- campaign data.
D.106Campaign Firewall
Campaign and municipal systems must remain:
- separate.
D.107No City Contact List for Campaigning
D.108No City Staff for Campaign Work
D.109No City Equipment for Campaign Work
Except where election law and ordinary public access expressly permit equal use.
D.110No Campaign Priority Queue
D.111Election-Year Integrity
Government continues operating.
D.112But Incumbency Should Not Become Municipal Advertising Machine
D.113Official Communications
Should remain:
- factual;
- institutional.
D.114Campaign Communications
Can be:
- political.
Keep separate.
D.115Staff
Municipal employees are not:
- campaign team.
D.116Resident Data
Municipal data is not:
- voter targeting inventory.
D.117Privacy
Collect the least information reasonably necessary.
D.118Why Are We Collecting This?
Ask before every new field.
D.119"May Be Useful Later"
Usually insufficient.
D.120Retention
Do not retain personal information indefinitely merely because:
- storage is cheap.
D.121Access
Limit according to role.
D.122Logging
Sensitive systems should support:
- accountability.
D.123Data Sharing
Needs:
- authority;
- purpose;
- safeguards.
D.124No Civic Dossier
Do not combine:
- service;
- health;
- police;
- business;
- youth;
- recreation;
data into one behavioural profile.
D.125No Social Score
Ever.
D.126No Political Score
Ever.
D.127No Vulnerability Score for General Government Use
D.128AI
AI may assist with:
- drafting;
- sorting;
- repetitive work;
- information navigation.
D.129Human Judgment
Keep where decisions materially affect:
- rights;
- benefits;
- penalties;
- employment;
- safety.
D.130No AI Personality Judgments
Do not score residents as:
- trustworthy;
- difficult;
- risky;
through speculative personality analysis.
D.131No Facial Recognition by Default
Any biometric proposal requires:
- separate high-threshold review.
D.132Accessibility
A public service is not fully public if residents cannot reasonably:
- reach;
- understand;
- use;
it.
D.133Design In
Accessibility belongs at:
- beginning.
D.134Not Retrofit if Avoidable
D.135Physical Accessibility
Consider:
- routes;
- entrances;
- washrooms;
- counters;
- seating.
D.136Digital Accessibility
Consider:
- screen readers;
- keyboard use;
- contrast;
- captions;
- document structure.
D.137Communication Accessibility
Use:
- plain language;
- alternative formats.
D.138Cognitive Load
Simpler government benefits:
- everyone.
D.139No App-Only Government
D.140No QR-Code-Only Government
D.141Residents Without Internet
Still residents.
D.142Seniors
Do not equate age with:
- incapacity.
D.143Youth
Do not equate youth with:
- decoration;
- publicity.
D.144Youth Participation
Should involve:
- real responsibility.
D.145Paid Work Paid
If youth work is employment:
- pay it appropriately.
D.146Volunteering
Must remain genuinely:
- voluntary.
D.147No Experience as Substitute for Pay
D.148Youth Political Independence
Youth programs must not become:
- incumbent campaign network.
D.149Youth Can Criticize City Hall
And remain:
- welcome.
D.150Seniors' Independence
Municipal design should support:
- independence;
- dignity;
- participation.
D.151No Vulnerability Registry by Default
D.152Public Safety
Safety should protect:
- people.
D.153Safety Is Not Surveillance
D.154Enforcement Is Not Outcome
D.155Ticket Count Is Not Safety Measure
D.156Behaviour, Not Status
Address harmful behaviour.
Do not criminalize or stigmatize:
- poverty;
- homelessness;
- illness;
as identities.
D.157Emergency Capacity
Preserve.
D.158Right Responder
Use the professional service best suited to:
- risk.
D.159Cost Saving Cannot Override Safety
D.160Staff Dignity
City employees also deserve:
- respect;
- clear expectations;
- safe work.
D.161Public Service Is Work
Treat professionally.
D.162No Political Humiliation of Staff
D.163No Staff Humiliation of Residents
D.164Mutual Standard
D.165Whistleblowing
Employees should have safe routes to report:
- wrongdoing;
- serious risk;
- retaliation.
D.166Criticism Is Not Whistleblowing Automatically
Use proper definitions.
D.167Labour
Collective bargaining rights and agreements should be:
- respected.
D.168Improvement Still Possible
Respect for labour does not mean:
- no process change.
D.169Employee Knowledge
Front-line employees often know:
- recurring waste;
- service problems.
Ask them.
D.170No Manufactured Layoff Dividend
Do not eliminate staff merely to create:
- political savings headline.
D.171Automation
Should first reduce:
- repetition;
- administrative friction.
D.172Human Work
Preserve human judgment where it adds:
- care;
- context;
- responsibility.
D.173Public Money
Every dollar should be treated as:
- entrusted.
D.174Complete Cost
Before spending:
Ask:
What does this really cost?
D.175Grant Money
Still public money.
D.176Reserve Money
Still public money.
D.177Debt
Future public money.
D.178Free Donation
May create future cost.
D.179Cheapest Bid
Not automatically best value.
D.180Highest Price
Not automatically best quality.
D.181Stewardship Means Comparison
D.182Repair Before Replace
Where sensible.
D.183Maintain Before Decorate
Where infrastructure requires it.
D.184Prevent Before Emergency
Where practical.
D.185Measure Before Claim
Always.
D.186Taxpayer Honesty
Do not say:
taxes are frozen
if:
- fees;
- levies;
- future liabilities;
are rising materially without explanation.
D.187Budget Honesty
Do not use:
- reserve withdrawals;
- delayed maintenance;
- one-time grants;
to manufacture permanent balance.
D.188Future Generations
Do not solve today's political problem by quietly creating:
- tomorrow's infrastructure bill.
D.189Intergenerational Stewardship
Long-lived assets can justify long-term investment.
But future residents should receive:
- value;
with obligation.
D.190Environment
Stewardship includes:
- water;
- land;
- trees;
- public space;
- infrastructure resilience.
D.191Environmental Policy
Should be:
- measurable;
- local;
- practical.
D.192No Environmental Branding Without Maintenance
D.193Tree Planting
Measure survival.
D.194Energy Retrofit
Measure performance.
D.195Waste Reduction
Measure actual diversion or reduction where possible.
D.196Canadian Independence
The Covenant supports Canadian resilience where lawful and practical.
D.197Independence Does Not Mean Isolation
Canada benefits from:
- trade;
- alliances;
- technology;
- international exchange.
D.198Local Capacity
Should increase where dependency creates:
- unacceptable risk.
D.199Canadian Procurement
Use within current law.
D.200Digital Independence
Prefer systems where City can:
- export;
- migrate;
- continue operating.
D.201Can We Leave?
This is a governance question.
D.202Vendor Dependence
Should be deliberate, not accidental.
D.203Community
Government is not the only institution capable of:
- good.
D.204Families
Matter.
D.205Neighbours
Matter.
D.206Service Clubs
Matter.
D.207Faith Communities
Matter.
D.208Nonprofits
Matter.
D.209Businesses
Matter.
D.210Volunteers
Matter.
D.211Partnership Before Program
Before building a City program:
Who already does this well?
D.212Support Before Takeover
Where appropriate.
D.213Public Responsibility Still Remains
Partnership cannot become:
- abdication.
D.214Critical Municipal Service
Must remain accountable to:
- City.
D.215Volunteer Boundaries
Volunteers should not become:
- unpaid substitute workforce;
for ongoing professional responsibilities.
D.216Community Grants
Need:
- public purpose;
- fair rules.
D.217Faith Organizations
May participate on the same lawful basis as:
- other community partners.
D.218No Religious Preference
D.219No Anti-Religious Preference
D.220Viewpoint Neutrality
Important.
D.221Indigenous Relationship
Saugeen Ojibway Nation is not simply:
- community partner.
D.222Distinct Relationship
Treat with:
- respect;
- rights awareness;
- government-to-government seriousness.
D.223Listen First
Before major shared-land or water decisions:
- engage early.
D.224No Surprise
Aim for:
no-surprise relationship.
D.225Disagreement Can Survive
A strong relationship does not require:
- permanent agreement.
D.226Keep Commitments
D.227Honour Confidentiality
Where agreed and lawful.
D.228Indigenous Knowledge
Not automatically:
- City data.
D.229Government Relationships
Grey County is:
- government.
D.230Ontario is:
- government.
D.231Canada is:
- government.
D.232Different Authority
Treat each accurately.
D.233No Partisan Test
Owen Sound should work with:
- governments residents elected;
regardless of party.
D.234Provincial Relationship
Use local authority fully. Ask Ontario precisely. Match authority with responsibility. Match funding with responsibility. Measure the result.
D.235Federal Relationship
Local capability. Provincial respect. Federal precision. Canadian resilience.
D.236County Relationship
Two governments. One resident. One taxpayer. No wrong door. Every layer adds value or earns a review.
D.237No Wrong Door
Residents should receive:
- help;
even when issue belongs elsewhere.
D.238But Do Not Lie About Jurisdiction
Say:
This is not a City decision, but here is the correct route.
D.239Accountability
Every significant commitment should have:
- owner;
- date;
- cost;
- measure.
D.240Promise
Do not make promises whose meaning changes after election.
D.241Original Wording
Preserve.
D.242Completed
Means:
- completed.
D.243Missed
Means:
- missed.
D.244Responsible Stop
Can still be:
- good government.
D.245Failure
Can be acknowledged.
D.246Learning
Should follow.
D.247No Perfection Theatre
No four-year plan will proceed exactly as written.
D.248Honest Change
Say:
We changed our mind because the evidence changed.
D.249Political Courage
Sometimes means:
- continuing.
Sometimes:
- stopping.
D.250Public Scorecard
Should show both.
D.251Resident Participation
Residents should participate between elections.
D.252Participation Is Not Permanent Plebiscite
Representative government still matters.
D.253Resident Pulse
Can inform.
D.254Strong Vote
Can inform within lawful design.
D.255Petition
Can alert.
D.256Delegation
Can persuade.
D.257Council Decides
Where law assigns decision to:
- Council.
D.258Expertise
Some decisions require:
- engineering;
- legal;
- clinical;
- financial;
judgment.
D.259Public Opinion Cannot Certify Bridge Safety
D.260Engineer Cannot Decide Municipal Values Alone
Both:
- expertise;
- democracy;
have roles.
D.261Consultation
Should occur when:
- input can matter.
D.262Information Session
Should be called that when:
- decision is already made.
D.263Consultation Summary
Publish:
What we heard.
What changed.
What did not change.
Why.
D.264Minority Position
Can still influence design.
D.265Accessibility in Engagement
Essential.
D.266Non-Digital Engagement
Essential where practical.
D.267Privacy in Engagement
Do not require residents to expose more personal information than necessary merely to:
- comment.
D.268Verify Person, Protect Opinion
Where verification is needed:
Verify person. Protect opinion.
D.269Anonymous Public Reading
Should remain possible for ordinary municipal information.
D.270Identity
Do not require identity merely to:
- view;
- learn.
D.271Voting or Restricted Participation
May require verification.
D.272Separate Verification Data From Opinion Where Practical
D.273Public Square
Public spaces should allow:
- ordinary lawful disagreement;
- civic gathering;
- culture;
- faith;
- commerce;
under neutral rules.
D.274Public Square Is Not Campaign Property
D.275Arts
Viewpoint neutral within lawful program criteria.
D.276Faith Events
Same.
D.277Political Events
Same lawful framework where permitted.
D.278Safety Rules
Apply equally.
D.279Noise Rules
Apply equally.
D.280Scheduling
Apply equally.
D.281Downtown
A healthy downtown should belong to:
- residents;
- businesses;
- visitors;
- vulnerable people;
- families;
- seniors;
- youth.
D.282Public Realm
Belongs to:
- everyone lawfully using it.
D.283Homelessness
Do not treat homelessness itself as:
- misconduct.
D.284Harmful Behaviour
Address.
D.285Public Space Rules
Should be:
- clear;
- enforceable;
- humane.
D.286Business Rights
A lawful business should not face different municipal treatment because elected officials:
- dislike its politics.
D.287Community Standards
Can still regulate:
- lawful planning;
- licensing;
- safety;
- nuisance.
D.288Same Rules
Again.
D.289Initiative Test
Every significant initiative should pass the Civic Covenant.
D.290Covenant Questions
Does it respect dignity?
Is personal autonomy restricted more than necessary?
Does it treat families and neighbourhood life seriously?
Is service equal regardless of belief or political opinion?
Are rights considered before popularity?
Is government collecting unnecessary data?
Is accessibility built in?
Is there a conflict or favourite?
Is public money visible?
Can residents understand the decision?
Can we stop if it fails?
Would we accept this precedent under another Mayor?
D.291Civic Covenant Review Box
A Council report could include:
| Covenant Question | Status |
| Equal treatment | Confirmed / Concern / N/A |
| Rights review | Complete / Pending / N/A |
| Accessibility | Complete / Pending |
| Privacy | Complete / Pending / N/A |
| Conflict review | Complete / Pending / N/A |
| Public cost | Disclosed / Pending |
| Consultation | Complete / Planned / N/A |
| Exit path | Defined / Pending / N/A |
| Political neutrality | Confirmed / Concern |
| Public explanation | Ready / Pending |
D.292Not Every Small Purchase Needs This Table
Proportionality.
D.293Major Policy
Yes.
D.294High-Rights-Risk Policy
Definitely.
D.295High-Conflict Proposal
Definitely.
D.296High-Data Proposal
Definitely.
D.297Covenant Conflict
If an initiative fails a Covenant test:
Do not automatically:
- reject.
Investigate.
D.298Example
A mandatory digital process may create:
- efficiency;
but fail:
- accessibility;
- autonomy.
Add:
- human route.
D.299Example
A camera may improve:
- security;
but create:
- privacy risk.
Narrow:
- field;
- retention;
- use.
D.300Example
A business incentive may create:
- investment;
but fail:
- No Favourites.
Use:
- open criteria.
D.301Example
A youth program may create:
- experience;
but fail:
- Paid Work Paid.
Reclassify and compensate appropriately.
D.302Example
A sign restriction may improve:
- streetscape;
but engage:
- expression.
Use legal and proportionality review.
D.303Example
A social-service partnership may help:
- residents;
but duplicate:
- County role.
Coordinate.
D.304Example
A popular policy may violate:
- rights.
Do not use popularity as defence.
D.305Example
An unpopular infrastructure repair may still be:
- necessary.
Leadership sometimes means explaining:
- duty.
D.306Civic Courage
Government should not follow polls blindly.
D.307Civic Humility
Government should not ignore residents arrogantly.
D.308Balance
Listen.
Decide.
Explain.
Measure.
D.309Public Conduct Standard
Mayor and Council should:
- criticize ideas;
- avoid gratuitous personal attacks.
D.310Sharp Debate
Allowed.
D.311Personal Abuse
Not useful.
D.312Humour
Fine.
D.313Mockery of Residents
Not appropriate.
D.314Social Media
Public officials remain:
- public officials;
online.
D.315Personal Account
May be political.
Still subject to:
- law;
- records;
- ethics;
where applicable.
D.316Official Account
Must remain:
- institutional.
D.317Blocking Critics
Any official-account moderation should follow:
- lawful;
- viewpoint-neutral;
- transparent;
rules.
D.318Threats and Spam
Can be moderated under clear rules.
D.319Disagreement
Not spam merely because repeated or uncomfortable.
D.320City Meetings
Chair should protect:
- order;
- participation.
D.321Chair Should Not Protect Council From Embarrassment
D.322Staff Presentations
Should disclose:
- limitations;
- uncertainty.
D.323Consultant Presentations
Same.
D.324Lobbying
Material attempts to influence major City decisions should be handled under:
- applicable transparency;
- ethics;
- procurement;
rules.
D.325Gifts
Avoid circumstances that create:
- obligation;
- appearance of favour.
D.326Hospitality
Use policy.
D.327Travel
Public purpose.
D.328Expense
Publicly accountable.
D.329Mayor's Office
Should not become:
- private patronage centre.
D.330Council Office
Same.
D.331Civic Appointments
Should use:
- competence;
- representation of useful experience;
- transparent criteria.
D.332No Loyalty Test
D.333No Campaign Reward
D.334Board Independence
Respect statutory structure.
D.335Procurement Independence
Respect.
D.336Hiring Independence
Respect.
D.337Enforcement Independence
Respect.
D.338Professional Independence
Respect.
D.339Complaint Systems
Residents need a route when:
- service fails.
D.340Complaint Is Data
Aggregate patterns can improve:
- systems.
D.341Complaint Is Not Misconduct by Resident
D.342Repeat Complaint
May indicate:
- repeat failure.
D.343Abusive Conduct
Can be addressed separately.
D.344Service Recovery
Apologize where appropriate.
D.345Fix
Where possible.
D.346Explain
Where not.
D.347Escalate
Where required.
D.348Ombudsman / Integrity / Other Oversight
Use the proper institution for:
- issue.
D.349Accountability Has Channels
Not every complaint belongs to:
- Mayor.
D.350Mayor Should Not Become Complaint Monarch
Systems should work.
D.351Public Trust
Trust is not created by:
- slogans.
D.352Trust Is Built Through
- accuracy;
- consistency;
- fairness;
- correction;
- results.
D.353Trust Can Survive Disagreement
Yes.
D.354Trust Can Survive Failure
If failure is:
- admitted;
- corrected.
D.355Trust Does Not Survive Manipulation Easily
D.356Civic Education
The City can teach:
- how municipal government works.
D.357Civic Education Is Not Indoctrination
D.358Present Authority Honestly
D.359Present Disagreement Honestly
D.360Youth Civic Education
Should allow students to conclude:
City Hall is wrong.
D.361Democracy Requires That Freedom
D.362Institutional Memory
Document decisions.
D.363No Government by Memory
D.364Records
The next Council should understand:
- why.
D.365Handoffs
Professional.
D.366Outgoing Mayor
Does not own:
- institutional knowledge.
D.367Incoming Mayor
Should not need:
- political permission;
to access legitimate municipal records.
D.368Four-Year Transition
Begin before election.
D.369Public Office Ends
Institution continues.
D.370Civic Covenant Scorecard
The Covenant should not be reduced to one:
- grade.
D.371Possible Indicators
Track:
- complaints about unequal treatment;
- corrected public errors;
- closed-meeting compliance;
- conflicts disclosed;
- accessibility barriers;
- privacy incidents;
- procurement exceptions;
- resident satisfaction;
- staff engagement;
- overdue public commitments.
D.372Numbers Need Context
One reported privacy incident may reflect:
- one incident;
- better reporting.
D.373Zero Complaints
Does not automatically mean:
- perfect service.
Could mean:
- inaccessible complaint process.
D.374Qualitative Review
Needed.
D.375Annual Covenant Review
Ask:
Where did we exercise power well?
Where did we overreach?
Where did we fail to act?
Where did residents receive unequal treatment?
Where did privacy fail?
Where did accessibility fail?
Where did conflict controls work?
Where did they fail?
What did we correct?
D.376Public Examples
Use:
- anonymized;
- lawful;
examples where useful.
D.377No Employee Shame
Again.
D.378No Resident Shame
Again.
D.379Year One
Establish:
- Covenant;
- training;
- review screen;
- conflict firewall;
- correction standard.
D.380Year Two
Audit whether:
- practice matches policy.
D.381Year Three
Address repeated:
- cultural;
- process;
failures.
D.382Year Four
Publish:
Civic Covenant Audit.
D.383Four-Year Covenant Audit
Should answer:
Was government more open?
Was it easier to challenge?
Were rights protected?
Were residents treated equally?
Were conflicts handled?
Was public money clearer?
Did privacy improve?
Did accessibility improve?
Did City Hall correct itself?
Did political and administrative systems remain separate?
Did residents retain non-digital access?
Did Council leave stronger institutions than it inherited?
D.384Anti-Gaming Rule One
Do not call a policy rights-based simply because:
- the word rights appears in it.
D.385Anti-Gaming Rule Two
Do not call equal treatment achieved because:
- policy says equality.
D.386Anti-Gaming Rule Three
Do not call consultation respectful because:
- meeting occurred.
D.387Anti-Gaming Rule Four
Do not call government open because:
- website contains documents.
D.388Anti-Gaming Rule Five
Do not call data public if ordinary residents cannot:
- find;
- understand;
- access;
it.
D.389Anti-Gaming Rule Six
Do not call a service accessible because:
- accessibility statement exists.
D.390Anti-Gaming Rule Seven
Do not call a program voluntary if refusing it causes:
- unreasonable loss of basic service.
D.391Anti-Gaming Rule Eight
Do not call a volunteer genuinely voluntary if the City uses pressure or employment-like control to avoid wages.
D.392Anti-Gaming Rule Nine
Do not call surveillance safety simply because:
- cameras were installed.
D.393Anti-Gaming Rule Ten
Do not call enforcement successful because:
- tickets increased.
D.394Anti-Gaming Rule Eleven
Do not call a conflict resolved because:
- conflicted person verbally promised fairness.
D.395Anti-Gaming Rule Twelve
Do not call procurement open because:
- tender was publicly posted;
if specifications were written for one preselected supplier.
D.396Anti-Gaming Rule Thirteen
Do not call City data independent if:
- vendor controls export.
D.397Anti-Gaming Rule Fourteen
Do not call public participation nonpartisan if:
- campaign lists;
- campaign branding;
- incumbent promotion;
are embedded.
D.398Anti-Gaming Rule Fifteen
Do not call faith neutrality:
- excluding faith groups.
Neutrality means:
- lawful equal treatment.
D.399Anti-Gaming Rule Sixteen
Do not call faith freedom:
- giving one faith governmental preference.
D.400Anti-Gaming Rule Seventeen
Do not call family-friendly policy:
- a licence to treat other lawful households unequally.
D.401Anti-Gaming Rule Eighteen
Do not call dignity:
- absence of enforcement.
Lawful enforcement can coexist with dignity.
D.402Anti-Gaming Rule Nineteen
Do not call compassion:
- absence of standards.
D.403Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty
Do not call standards:
- compassionless;
merely because they are enforced.
D.404Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-One
Do not call open government:
- release of only favourable information.
D.405Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Two
Do not hide errors from the correction log because:
- politically inconvenient.
D.406Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Three
Do not hide missed commitments from the public Scorecard.
D.407Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Four
Do not use confidentiality merely because:
- issue is embarrassing.
D.408Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Five
Do not use privacy as an excuse to conceal aggregate public performance.
D.409Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Six
Do not use transparency as an excuse to expose unnecessary personal information.
D.410Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Seven
Do not use community partnership to outsource public accountability.
D.411Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Eight
Do not use City grants to build political networks.
D.412Anti-Gaming Rule Twenty-Nine
Do not use youth programs to build an incumbent volunteer army.
D.413Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty
Do not use official communications as campaign advertising.
D.414Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-One
Do not use staff as political surrogates.
D.415Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Two
Do not punish staff for professional disagreement.
D.416Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Three
Do not punish residents for political disagreement.
D.417Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Four
Do not equate criticism with misinformation simply because City Hall dislikes it.
D.418Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Five
Do not call an assertion false unless there is a reasonable basis.
D.419Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Six
Do not call an opinion a factual error.
D.420Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Seven
Do not call an estimate an observed result.
D.421Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Eight
Do not call a public consultation result a mandate outside municipal authority.
D.422Anti-Gaming Rule Thirty-Nine
Do not use strong mayor powers as proof that collaboration is unnecessary.
D.423Anti-Gaming Rule Forty
Do not use collaboration as an excuse for refusing to exercise lawful leadership.
D.424The Dignity Test
Ask:
Does this policy treat the person as a human being rather than merely a case number?
D.425The Autonomy Test
Ask:
Are we restricting personal choice more than the legitimate municipal objective requires?
D.426The Family Test
Ask:
What does this decision do to ordinary family and neighbourhood life?
D.427The Faith and Conscience Test
Ask:
Does the City remain neutral in public power while respecting lawful religious and non-religious conscience?
D.428The Expression Test
Ask:
Are we regulating harmful conduct or merely silencing a viewpoint?
D.429The Equality Test
Ask:
Would the same rule apply to someone we politically disagree with?
D.430The Stewardship Test
Ask:
Would we spend our own entrusted money this casually?
D.431The Transparency Test
Ask:
Can residents understand what we decided and why?
D.432The Privacy Test
Ask:
Why are we collecting this information?
D.433The Accessibility Test
Ask:
Can people actually use the service?
D.434The Conflict Test
Ask:
Who privately benefits?
D.435The Procurement Test
Ask:
Did everyone have a fair opportunity under the rules?
D.436The Resident Participation Test
Ask:
Did people have a meaningful opportunity to influence something that was genuinely undecided?
D.437The Staff Test
Ask:
Can staff give professional advice without fear of political retaliation?
D.438The Youth Test
Ask:
Are we giving young people genuine opportunity rather than using them for optics or unpaid labour?
D.439The Senior Test
Ask:
Does the policy preserve independence rather than assuming incapacity?
D.440The Safety Test
Ask:
Does this reduce harm without unnecessarily expanding coercion or surveillance?
D.441The Technology Test
Ask:
Does technology serve residents, or are residents being forced to serve the technology?
D.442The Vendor Test
Ask:
Can the City leave?
D.443The Political Neutrality Test
Ask:
Would this municipal system operate exactly the same way if another Mayor were elected tomorrow?
D.444The Public Office Test
Ask:
Am I exercising public authority for the public, or using public authority to strengthen myself?
D.445The Future Council Test
Ask:
Are we leaving the next Council more capable or more trapped?
D.446The Honest Failure Test
Ask:
If this fails, will we publish that fact?
D.447The Stop Test
Ask:
Can we stop without political denial if the evidence says we should?
D.448The Civic Covenant Commitment
Owen Sound should commit to:
Treat public office as a temporary public trust.
Treat residents as people rather than files, customers, political targets or data points.
Recognize human dignity as the starting point for public service.
Respect lawful personal autonomy and require a real public reason before restricting it.
Recognize the importance of family and neighbourhood life without using family policy as a basis for unlawful unequal treatment.
Use the principle: Faith informs the motive. Law governs the exercise of public power.
Never require religious belief or rejection of belief as a condition of ordinary municipal service.
Treat faith-based and secular organizations under the same lawful public-purpose standards.
Provide equal municipal service regardless of political support, criticism, religion, friendship, donor status or social standing.
Apply No Favourites to permits, procurement, grants, hiring, enforcement and municipal access.
Protect critics from political retaliation.
Allow government to say no where the law or public interest requires it, but require the no to be clear and respectful.
Treat lawful property interests seriously and public property as an asset held in trust.
Recognize that winning an election does not transfer ownership of the City to elected officials.
Use restraint when exercising government power.
Ask whether the same use of power would remain acceptable under a political opponent.
Avoid creating precedents that only appear legitimate when the current Mayor controls them.
Use general, transparent rules rather than one-person exceptions whenever possible.
Give discretionary decisions written criteria and proportionate review.
Respect rights before popularity.
Use a rights screen for significant policies affecting expression, conscience, religion, equality, privacy, procedural fairness, accessibility or Indigenous rights.
Do not call every policy disagreement a constitutional violation.
Protect lawful criticism, protest and civic disagreement.
Distinguish criticism from threats, violence and genuine harassment.
Regulate behaviour rather than viewpoint whenever the law permits that distinction.
Keep public-delegation rules focused on order and fairness rather than protecting Council from uncomfortable criticism.
Use the Steelman Standard for serious contested questions.
Present the strongest reasonable arguments for and against major proposals.
Do not use false balance where evidence is overwhelmingly one-sided.
Assume reasonable good faith until evidence supports another conclusion.
Allow Council members to dissent without being treated as disloyal.
Allow municipal staff to give professional advice that elected officials may not want to hear.
Distinguish fact, estimate, forecast, opinion, legal requirement and political preference.
Do not present uncertainty as certainty.
Allow City Hall to say: We do not know yet.
Correct material errors publicly.
Maintain a Correction Log rather than silently rewriting public history.
Operate Open by Default within lawful limits.
Use closed meetings only under lawful exceptions.
Never treat political embarrassment as confidentiality.
Publish public spending, contracts, commitments and performance in understandable forms.
Protect personal information while maintaining institutional transparency.
Keep procurement fair and free from political preference.
Never design public procurement around a favoured supplier.
Disclose and manage private conflicts of interest.
Use stronger independent controls when an elected official is associated with a proposed private platform, company or asset.
Apply Public Standard First to conflict-sensitive technology.
Keep municipal data, staff, equipment and communications separate from campaigns.
Never use City contact information as an incumbent campaign list.
Never use municipal staff as campaign workers.
Keep official communications factual and institutional.
Collect the least personal information reasonably necessary.
Do not retain personal data simply because storage is inexpensive.
Limit access to sensitive information according to legitimate role.
Do not build a universal civic dossier.
Never create political, social or speculative vulnerability scores for residents.
Use AI to reduce repetitive work where appropriate without surrendering meaningful human judgment in consequential decisions.
Do not use speculative AI personality analysis to judge residents.
Treat facial recognition and other biometrics as high-risk technologies requiring exceptional scrutiny rather than routine municipal tools.
Build accessibility into physical, digital and communications design from the beginning.
Maintain reasonable non-digital access to basic municipal services.
Never treat residents without smartphones or Internet access as second-class residents.
Treat seniors as capable adults and design municipal services to preserve independence.
Do not create vulnerability registries merely because data collection is technically possible.
Give youth real civic responsibility rather than treating youth participation as public relations.
Pay youth when the work is genuine employment.
Keep volunteering genuinely voluntary.
Never use experience as a substitute for wages where wages are legally or ethically appropriate.
Keep youth programs politically independent from incumbent campaigns.
Allow youth participants to criticize City Hall freely.
Measure public safety by harm, risk, response, prevention and capacity rather than enforcement volume alone.
Do not confuse surveillance with safety.
Do not measure safety by tickets, arrests or calls alone.
Use Behaviour Not Status when addressing public-space concerns.
Do not treat homelessness, poverty or illness as misconduct.
Preserve emergency capacity.
Use the right professional responder for the risk involved.
Never sacrifice safety merely to manufacture a financial saving.
Treat municipal employees with dignity and professionalism.
Never publicly humiliate staff for political effect.
Expect staff to treat residents with the same respect.
Maintain safe routes for employees to report serious wrongdoing or risk.
Respect collective agreements, labour law and professional responsibilities.
Use front-line employee knowledge to improve municipal operations.
Do not eliminate employees merely to manufacture an Efficiency Dividend.
Use automation first to remove repetition rather than human judgment.
Treat every public dollar as entrusted money.
Apply Complete Cost before major spending decisions.
Recognize grant money, reserve money and borrowed money as public resources.
Do not call donations free if they create operating or maintenance obligations.
Use Repair Before Replace where practical.
Maintain critical infrastructure before prioritizing decorative projects.
Prevent predictable failures before emergency repair where practical.
Measure before making claims of success.
Do not manipulate tax language to hide fees, reserve use, deferred maintenance or future obligations.
Do not create temporary budget balance by shifting cost into the future without disclosure.
Treat environmental stewardship as practical care for water, land, trees, infrastructure and public space.
Measure environmental results such as tree survival or energy performance rather than activity alone.
Support Canadian economic and digital resilience where lawful and practical.
Understand independence as capability and resilience rather than isolation.
Use the question Can We Leave? when evaluating important technology vendors.
Recognize families, neighbours, service clubs, nonprofits, faith communities, businesses and volunteers as important institutions outside government.
Use Partnership Before Program.
Do not make partnership a substitute for municipal accountability where the City retains the public responsibility.
Do not use volunteers as unpaid replacements for core professional services.
Keep community grants fair, transparent and connected to public purpose.
Treat Saugeen Ojibway Nation as a distinct governmental and rights relationship rather than a generic community partner.
Listen first and aim for a no-surprise relationship.
Keep commitments made in government-to-government relationships.
Respect agreed confidentiality and Indigenous information governance.
Work constructively with Grey County regardless of personalities.
Use the standard: Two governments. One resident. One taxpayer. No wrong door. Every layer adds value or earns a review.
Work constructively with Ontario regardless of partisan alignment.
Use the standard: Use local authority fully. Ask Ontario precisely. Match authority with responsibility. Match funding with responsibility. Measure the result.
Work constructively with Canada regardless of partisan alignment.
Use the standard: Local capability. Provincial respect. Federal precision. Canadian resilience.
Use No Wrong Door to help residents navigate government without pretending the City controls every outcome.
Preserve original public commitments and report Completed, Missed, Stopped and Changed honestly.
Allow evidence to change policy without rewriting the original promise.
Treat responsible stops as potential signs of good stewardship rather than political embarrassment.
Invite resident participation between elections while respecting representative government and professional expertise.
Use Resident Pulse, Strong Vote and similar tools only within lawful authority.
Never allow public opinion to substitute for professional certification where professional certification is required.
Never allow expertise to substitute entirely for democratic value judgments where Council must decide.
Consult when input can genuinely affect the decision.
Call information sessions information sessions when the decision is already made.
Publish what consultation changed, what it did not change and why.
Protect privacy during public engagement.
Use the principle Verify Person. Protect Opinion where identity verification is necessary.
Do not require identity merely to read ordinary public information.
Keep public squares and civic spaces open to lawful cultural, religious, political and community activity under neutral rules.
Never turn municipal civic space into incumbent campaign property.
Maintain clear, humane and enforceable public-space standards.
Treat lawful businesses neutrally regardless of political or cultural preference.
Require every significant initiative to pass a Civic Covenant review.
Ask whether an initiative protects dignity, autonomy, equality, rights, accessibility, privacy, public money and political neutrality.
Use safeguards to correct Covenant concerns before rejecting useful initiatives where possible.
Maintain respectful public conduct without suppressing vigorous debate.
Never treat personal discomfort as evidence of misconduct.
Use official social-media accounts according to transparent, viewpoint-neutral moderation rules.
Do not classify political disagreement as spam merely because it is repetitive or inconvenient.
Keep lobbying, gifts, hospitality, travel and expenses subject to clear ethical rules.
Use civic appointments for public service rather than political reward.
Respect the independence of statutory boards, procurement, hiring, enforcement and professional decision-making.
Give residents meaningful complaint and service-recovery systems.
Treat complaint patterns as information about systems rather than evidence that residents are the problem.
Do not make the Mayor the personal gatekeeper for every complaint.
Build trust through accuracy, consistency, fairness, correction and results rather than branding.
Teach how municipal government works without indoctrinating residents or youth into support for the government of the day.
Allow civic education participants to disagree with City Hall.
Preserve institutional memory and prepare professional handoffs between Councils.
Recognize that public office ends while the public institution continues.
Audit the Civic Covenant annually.
Measure conduct and institutional performance without reducing civic ethics to one artificial score.
Use complaints, corrections, conflicts, privacy incidents, accessibility barriers, procurement exceptions, resident experience and commitment performance as evidence with context.
Never treat zero complaints as automatic proof of good government.
Use Year One to establish the Covenant and its operating controls.
Use Year Two to test whether practice matches policy.
Use Year Three to correct repeated cultural and process failures.
Use Year Four to publish a Civic Covenant Audit before handing power to the next Council.
Never use rights language as decoration.
Never call equal service achieved merely because a policy says so.
Never call government open merely because documents technically exist online.
Never call a service accessible because an accessibility statement exists.
Never call surveillance safety without evidence of actual safety benefit.
Never call enforcement success based on revenue or ticket volume.
Never call a conflict controlled without independent safeguards where they are needed.
Never call procurement fair if the requirements were secretly designed around a preferred supplier.
Never call political engagement nonpartisan while campaign branding or incumbent recruitment is embedded within it.
Never interpret religious neutrality as hostility toward religion or as preference for religion.
Never use dignity as an excuse to abandon lawful standards.
Never use standards as an excuse to abandon dignity.
Never hide unfavourable information from Open Government.
Never use privacy to conceal legitimate aggregate performance information.
Never use transparency to justify unnecessary disclosure of personal information.
Never use community partnership to outsource accountability.
Never use youth, grants, staff, public events or municipal communications to build an incumbent political machine.
Never punish professional disagreement.
Never punish political disagreement.
Never call opinion a factual error merely because the government disagrees.
Never call forecast a result.
Never call public popularity legal authority.
Never use Strong Mayor authority as proof that persuasion and collaboration are unnecessary.
Never use collaboration as an excuse for avoiding lawful leadership.
Apply the final Covenant test to every major decision: would this still be fair, lawful and defensible if someone I strongly disagreed with held the same office and used the same power against my own interests?
The Civic Covenant can ultimately be reduced to a small number of commitments.
Treat people with dignity.
Respect freedom and conscience.
Strengthen families and neighbourhoods without governing private belief.
Apply the same rules to friends and critics.
Protect rights before popularity.
Spend public money as a trustee.
Tell residents what government knows, what it does not know and what it got wrong.
Keep public information open and personal information protected.
Build accessibility in from the beginning.
Keep campaigns separate from government.
Listen seriously to disagreement.
Use power carefully.
Measure the result.
Stop what does not work.
Leave the institution stronger than you found it.
A Mayor should not ask:
How much power do I have?
without also asking:
What is the right way to use it?
A Council should not ask:
Can we pass this?
without also asking:
Should we?
And a City should not judge its success only by:
- roads repaired;
- permits issued;
- dollars spent;
- projects completed.
It should also ask:
Did we govern people fairly?
Did we respect their rights?
Did we tell the truth?
Did we keep politics out of ordinary service?
Did we correct ourselves?
Did we use power with restraint?
Did we leave residents more capable of understanding and participating in their own local government?
That is the Civic Covenant.
Faith informs the motive. Law governs the exercise of public power. Public office is temporary. The public trust is not.